SEATTLE, WA — A 33-year-old Auburn police officer faces multiple charges after a fatal pedestrian crash that occurred while he was off-duty in Seattle’s Interbay area, reports KIRO 7 Seattle.
The collision occurred on 15th Avenue West near Gilman Drive West, shortly before 10:45 p.m.
According to authorities, the suspect was speeding northbound in a 2016 Mercedes with a female passenger in the front seat. One witness said they saw the Mercedes enter the oncoming lane to pass traffic. As the suspect turned right onto Gilman Drive West, he failed to maintain his lane. Moments later, the car traveled onto the sidewalk, where it sideswiped a telephone pole and hit the pedestrian.
The victim, a 65-year-old man, died almost instantly upon impact.
The suspect then continued driving erratically up the embankment, where he collided with three metal mailboxes before coming to a rest about 100 feet away from the fatal crash site.
Responding officers said the suspect displayed signs of intoxication at the scene and refused to perform field sobriety tests. He was taken into custody for vehicular homicide and DUI. Results to a toxicology test was pending as of this writing.
Investigators later learned that just prior to the pedestrian crash, the suspect had rear-ended a taxi-cab that was transporting a passenger. No one was hurt in that event, but authorities said the suspect tried to forcibly remove the other driver from their vehicle. Minor vehicle damage was reported.
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